Side Street: Shimoda's new side-loading, street-smart camera bag

Shimoda has released three new side-loading camera backpacks that let you quickly access your camera from the side, without taking the bag all the way off your shoulders. The three new models include:

• Side Lite — Lightest Shimoda backpack to date, designed for quick load-outs. Women's model also available with tailored straps.
• Side Country — Larger and sturdier. Great for casual hikes. Available in 28L and 32L sizes, as well as women's models.
• Side Street — Urban-styled, streamlined bag. Offered in 22L and 28L sizes.

Each pack is sold on its own or as a "Starter Kit" including a medium Top Loader core unit for storing camera gear inside. Top Loaders double as standalone camera bags when used with their provided shoulder straps, or when mounted to waist belts. Small and large Top Loader sizes are also available separately, and may be used as core units inside all three side-loading backpacks.

Hands-on with the Side Street 28L

Before reviewing Side Street, I should mention that I’m a longtime Shimoda user, specifically Explore, Action X and Urban Explore. Explore and Action X are perfect for more serious photography adventures, with wide, plush straps and waist belts that stay comfortable even when hauling heavy gear through airports or up a trail. Urban Explore is lighter, simpler, and more minimal. Great bag for short trips and walks around town.

Side Street is a hybrid bag that sits in-between these bags. It's designed for daily use, weekend trips, and short hikes, yet provides a convenient waist belt, roll-top compartment, and larger side pouches for bigger water bottles and tripods. Think of it as the bigger sibling of Urban Explore, and the smaller, more polished sibling of Explore and Action X. A bag that tries to provide the comfort and space of an outdoor hiking bag with a more stylish, cleaner-looking profile.

What I like about the Side Street

• Side camera access works well. Unbuckle the waist belt, slide the pack off one shoulder, unzip the side flap, and pull out a camera. Fast and intuitive without taking the bag completely off.
• New Boa color is earthy and modern, with color-matched zippers for a clean look.
• Modular core unit conveniently doubles as a shoulder bag.
• Roll-top expandable storage with removable Onsen bag. Great for storing jackets, food, hats, gloves, and other small items. When not in use, roll-top folds down clean and flat.
• Waist belt helps redistribute weight to the hips when carrying heavier loads. Removable for a cleaner profile when needed.
• Exterior shell constructed using durable, recycled Cordura fabric.
• 16" laptop sleeve, accessible from the top or front.
• Two slim-profile side pockets for carrying a water bottle, travel tripod or other items.
• Rain cover and storage pouch included.

Side Street limitations

Side Street (and Side Light/Country) are smaller bags designed for carrying light camera load-outs on day trips and short hikes. They are not intended to be used with large amounts of camera gear, or carry standard-to-large sized tripods. In other words, Side Street is not a bag I'd use when hiking long distances and/or carrying an above average amount of gear. For the latter, I'd use the aforementioned Explore or Action X backpacks instead.

Comfort wise, the straps and waist belt on Side Street are good enough for everyday wear, though they are stiffer, denser and less padded. Again, not the kind of thing anyone will likely notice when the bag is packed with a normal amount of gear, but Side Street is not a bag I'd use for landscape photography. Weekend trip to a city where I don't want to look like I just descended a tall mountain? Absolutely. The bag is perfectly designed for that.

Packing camera gear in a side-loading bag is different from a back-loading bag, for there are fewer compartments to fill, and the bag doesn't provide rear-access when laying flat on the ground. If you like carrying multiple pieces of gear, neatly organized using padded dividers, you'd be better off with a larger bag (like Explore or Action X).

The Top Loader bags are fantastic. I love the option of carrying a smaller camera pouch on my hip when I don't need or want a backpack. Great system for trips when I'd wear the backpack when traveling, then remove the Top Loader for a day around town. Also like their expandable bottoms for carrying longer lenses.

Finally, there's mounting the Top Loader bag (included with the Starter Kit) to a pants belt or the waist belt of the backpack itself. The bag includes a smart security leash that helps prevent it from sliding off when unbuckling the waist belt. However, this leash only works with the Action X and Explore packs (or other backpacks with similar slits in their waist belts).

Overall, I think the Side Street is a well-designed, good-looking camera bag that strikes a smart balance for hybrid shooters who want side access, a waist belt, and expandable roll-top without carrying a bulky, outdoor-centric hiking pack.

Additional Top Loaders

As mentioned earlier, Shimoda is also offering small and large Top Loaders in addition to the medium size that ships with the "Starter Kit" of all three bags. All three Top Loaders are compatible with the Lite, Country and Street side-loading bags, and may be used independently.

• Small — 1 camera body + lens (15cm/5.9" wide)
• Medium — 1 body + 2 lenses (25cm/9.8" wide)
• Large — 1 body + 3 lenses (30cm/11.8" wide)

Shimoda provided me with a large Top Loader (in addition to the medium which comes with the Side Street "Starter Kit"). I could see moments in which I'd prefer carrying the large with bulkier camera systems (like my Fujifilm GFX 100S II), but in practical use, I find large to be a bit...large. Not only does the bag feel bigger on my hip, but heavier because it can carry more gear.

Personally, if I were buying another Top Loader to expand my packing options beyond medium, I'd buy the small size. I haven't tested it first hand, but based on what I can see, small appears to be perfect for carrying an extra lens on my hip when doing landscape photography, and would be great when carrying a single camera body and lens on a day trip. I rarely carry more than one lens in these scenarios (opting instead for a medium variable telephoto, e.g., 24-70mm), so the small would be all I'd really need. It does look more like a camera pouch than a purse (or murse), but if that was a concern I'd wear the medium size instead.

Overall, I like the modular nature of these Top Loader bags, how they work with all three side-loading bags, and how they may be adapted to different scenarios.

New soft core gear storage

Shimoda has also introduced a new line of photography-centric packing cubes. These are ideal for storing and protecting mirrorless camera kits, filters, drones, batteries, or other small camera accessories. Options include:

• Soft Cores — Standalone camera gear storage, ideal for small mirrorless kits. Three sizes, two colors.
• Drone Cores — Designed for consumer drones, controllers and batteries. Two sizes, one for the DJI Mini series, one for DJI Mavic series.
• Accessory Cases and Pouches — Designed for packing batteries, cleaning supplies, cables, and small accessories. Medium and large cases are sized to fit the width of Shimoda backpacks, and provide transparent windows to see what's inside without unzipping and opening.

Shimoda sent me a medium-sized Accessory Case, and I very much like being able to see gear inside the case without first unzipping it. At a glance, I know exactly what's inside. I could see these transparent windows being especially helpful when owning and using multiple cases. I also like how well it fits in the roll-top compartment of Side Street and above a medium-sized core unit in Explore and Action X.

Final thoughts

Shimoda's new side-loading packs are a smart addition to company's lineup. Side Street is sleek enough for travel and short trips, while rugged enough for light outdoor adventures. I especially like its expandable roll-top compartment, the ease with which I can access my camera while wearing the pack, and the overall look and feel of the bag.

For longer hikes or heavy loads, I’d still choose the Explore or Action X. But for city shooting, travel, or short hikes, the Side Street fits the bill.